


Vows, Flowers and an Ocean Breeze

by CookieDoughMe



Series: Decades and Generations (for Haven Month 2020) [4]
Category: Haven (TV)
Genre: 10 years of Haven, 27 years later, F/M, Fluff, Garland Wuornos mentioned - Freeform, Gloria Verrano mentioned, HAPPY TEARS THOUGH, I Made Myself Cry, Non-canon-compliant, Weddings, havenmonth
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-25
Updated: 2020-07-25
Packaged: 2021-03-05 06:27:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 800
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25379857
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CookieDoughMe/pseuds/CookieDoughMe
Summary: For the fourth#havenmonthprompt of '27 years later', this follows on from my other fics inthis seriesand is set on a very happy day, 27 years after the Troubles ended for good in a very non-canon-compliant way.(I also seem to have an accidental weather theme running through these for some reason.)
Relationships: Duke Crocker/Audrey Parker/Nathan Wuornos, Jean Mitchell/Aaron Harker
Series: Decades and Generations (for Haven Month 2020) [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1825660
Comments: 4
Kudos: 3
Collections: Haven Month 2020





	Vows, Flowers and an Ocean Breeze

It was the perfect summer's day: blue skies, the odd cloud and a fresh breeze to lighten the air. At the top of the hill stood a small gazebo, decorated with flowers. The crowd gathered on the neat rows of chairs in front of it were dressed in their best finery and taking in the view of the ocean while they waited for proceedings to start. As well as the officiant, the gazebo held the happy couple, who were dressed in matching tailor-made outfits; a luxurious deep blue fabric that fell from shoulders to knees in a simple tunic style, split at the sides to show off the silvery wide-legged pants underneath. The bride wore a crown of flowers pinned to the top of her head, and the long braid that ran down the groom’s back was woven through with some of the same blooms. It was a look that was elegantly simple, and it was to be a simple ceremony as well - a statement of intent, an exchange of vows and rings, and the signing and witnessing of the register. Then they would all walk down to the Grey Gull for some food, wine, music and dancing before the couple took off for their honeymoon and left their guests to dance the night away.

To the bride's side stood her proud father, the ring in his hand ready to pass across. To the groom's side, similarly prepared with a ring, stood a woman who could have easily been mistaken for his mother, though he had no official family left. There was a murmur of nervousness and anticipation in the air. Then the officiant opened a book, held up her hand and the crowd fell silent. Somewhere nearby a bird called, and then it fell silent too. The couple looked at each other as the officiant began to speak; the moment of their wedding was here.

“We are gathered here today to witness and celebrate the union of Jean Mitchell and Aaron Harker in marriage.”

In the front row, next to the seat reserved for Duke, Nathan heard a noise from Audrey on his other side. A little half-way between a gasp and a sob; the beginnings of the traditional crying-at-weddings that Audrey had very firmly stated she was not going to do. He leaned over and whispered in her ear, "Crying will not be tolerated."

It worked, in the sense that it stopped her crying, but it made her laugh instead and for a moment the sound almost competed with the ceremony. The couple and the officiant ignored them and carried on. Duke turned around to see what they were up to and Nathan threw an apologetic look at him, but Duke wasn't glaring at them in the way Nathan might have expected. Instead what struck Nathan was how nervous he looked. Nathan reached out a hand, Duke responded in kind, and for a moment their fingers brushed over each other in the space between them, then Duke turned back to the ceremony. 

Nathan's own chest was bursting with second-hand pride, he couldn't imagine how Duke felt. And there was something poetic about the whole thing, he thought. Two babies affected so badly by the Troubles, finding each other in friendship as children, in a relationship as adults, and now choosing to formalise that in the year the Troubles would have returned if the cycle had held. In fact it was almost exactly 27 years to the day since Audrey had first arrived in Haven, though none of them had told the couple that; it was a co-incidence, it needn't be part of their day.

And such a perfect day it was. The more traditional part of Nathan secretly bemoaned the shift in wedding dress fashions over the last decade or so, but even he had to admit they looked great together in their matching outfits. In their roles as ring bearers, Duke wore a jacket edged with the same blue, and Vickie had a few of the same flowers tucked in her hair. The only absence was Gloria, but Nathan liked to think that she was looking down on them. Her and maybe Ben and the rest of the Harkers too, watching over them from … some other place. However that worked - he didn't want to think about the details. But if they were somehow watching the ceremony right now, he knew they would be proud and happy at the sight. 

And if Gloria was up there watching over them all, then maybe so was Garland, and Vince and Dave, and all the others who had come before them. He liked to imagine it anyway. 

"All's well that ends well," Garland would say.

"This isn't an ending, you old fool," Gloria would admonish him. "This is just the beginning."

**Author's Note:**

> That's it for Haven Month from me, but go check out the other fics in [the Collection](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/HavenMonth2020) too :)


End file.
